Jamie Foxx and Martin Lawrence to Star in Crossover of 90s Characters SHENENEH AND WANDA

In what I can only pray is a kind of “That would be fun, we should make that movie someday,”-story because I can’t fathom why Jamie Foxx would want to go back and make a movie starring his stand-up/”In Loving Color” character, Wanda Wayne. You don’t see Jim Carrey angling for a Fire Marshall Bill movie and Foxx has far more respect and critical appreciation than Carrey.

On the other hand, I completely understand Martin Lawrence digging his stand-up/”Martin” character, Sheneneh Jenkins for a movie since Lawrence has shown he has no interest in expanding beyond the “College Road Trip”/”Big Momma’s House”-type films he’s done for the past several years. But regardless of their career trajectories, Lawrence and Foxx are planning to star in a feature film crossover of their 90s, ugly women character, “Sheneneh and Wanda”. Hit the jump for details.

In what seems like a project based on fan fiction, Screen Gems has acquired “Sheneneh and Wanda”, a comic caper designed as a starring vehicle for Foxx and Lawrence. According to Variety, “The project originated as a parody of a movie trailer for a film called ‘Skank Robbers,’ which Foxx and Lawrence made for the BET Awards. The reaction was strong enough that the duo decided to turn the concept into a real film.” I guess this Foxx and Lawrence wanting to return to their comedy roots but couldn’t they come up with fresh characters instead? Sheneneh and Wanda are stupid characters and not in an entertaining way. And to those who say, “Matt, you honky, you don’t get it because you’re not black,” let me just respond that I found it just as stupid when David Spade, Adam Sandler, and Chris Farley played the vapid mall girls on SNL. Crappy, one-note comic characters transcend race.

It’s fine to respect where a certain character’s success took you in your career but with all that distance since last playing the character, it doesn’t really work anymore. Age and a diversity of roles make the project seem tacky. Harrison Ford shouldn’t have done a fourth “Indiana Jones” movie, Michael Douglas shouldn’t be reprising Gordon Gecko, and Foxx and even Lawrence should leave these character behind. I hate to think of these guys, especially Foxx, wasting time on a movie like this simply because they’re nostalgic.

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